Devon Manley decided to get a gun at age 15 when an enemy shot him in the knee at Penn and Lowry avenues in north Minneapolis. He asked around and got a Glock for $250 he made from dealing crack.

His friends all competed over who had the best gun: “My gun is bigger than yours; my gun is better than yours.”

A few years later, visiting a cousin in Maple Grove, he met an ex-military guy in the same apartment complex who was impressed when the young Manley identified the gun on his hip as a .380 Kimber. Manley persuaded him to sell a P90 Ruger for $200. Manley’s drug-dealing friends also bought guns from the man.